Improving operability of spouted beds using a simple

optimizing control structure

N. A. CORRA, J. T. FREIRE and R. G. CORRA

Chemical Engineering Department, Federal University of So Carlos, Rod. Washington
Luiz,
Km 235, 13565-905, So Carlos - SP, Brazil
E-mail: ronaldo@power.ufscar.br

(Received: July 22, 1999: Accepted: August 30, 1999)

Abstract - In operations using spouted beds, it is of major importance, from an energy

consumption point of view, to operate the process as close as possible to the minimum
spout flow. At this point, the speed of the gas (for example, warm air in drying operations)
is greater than the amount of heat and mass transfer involved, although it only transfers the
minimum amount of momentum to maintain the spout. Therefore, by staying close to this
minimum flow condition, it is possible to perform a stable operation and to obtain energy
savings not only in the heating of the gas but also in its displacement by blowers. In order
to improve the operation of such processes, a study is carried out by implementing a simple
optimizing control structure on a spouted bed experimental set-up. The air flow is regulated
by a frequency inverter, at the speed of blower rotation. A PI controller was used and the
set-point for the air flow rate is calculated on-line by a simple and well-known
minimization method called Golden Section Search. This set-point is constantly updated
with values very close to the actual minimum spout flow rate. To accomplish the
calculations and data acquisitions, a microcomputer with an interface and an analog signal
conditioner is used .
Keywords: Spouted Beds, Minimum Flow Rate Operation, Optimizing Control, Golden
Section Search.

INTRODUCTION

In any process based on spouted beds, energy consumption is high due to the amount of
kinetic energy supplied to keep the solid-phase part of the bed moving. Therefore, any way
of saving energy that maintains stable operation is highly desirable. Let us take the example
of a drying operation for pastes with spouted beds with solid particles. The minimum warm
gas flow rate (normally air) for momentum transfer to solid particles is greater than the gas
flow rate necessary for the heat and mass transfer which take place in drying (Freire, 1992).
The use of a gas flow rate lower than a given minimum value will break the desirable
movement of such particles, i.e., the spout.

In order to minimize the energy demand, it is mandatory to operate the process with an air
flow rate as close as possible that which still maintains the spout of particulate medium.
This flow rate is called minimum spout flow rate,Qjm. A flow rate lower than the minimum
spout flow rate will result in the collapse of the spout movement of the particulate medium.
The spouted bed will exhibit a behavior similar to that in a fixed bed operation, which is
totally undesirable, mainly in paste drying. In cases like this, the spout movement of the
particles is indispensable for increasing the area of heat and mass transfer of the paste and
also for dry powder detachment.
Sometimes it is difficult to operate manually the spouted bed at exactly the minimum spout
flow rate. Besides the imminence of the collapse of the bed due to any minor disturbance
that can extinguish the spout, there is the case where the minimum spout flow rate changes
during operation. Therefore, in manual operation, it is a common procedure to set the flow
rates lightly higher than the minimum spout flow rate and then monitor the spout for a
possible collapse.

The study of control problems in spouted beds is rather reported in the literature. We have
found only one paper which deals with the control of a drying process in a mechanically
spouted bed dryer (Szentmarjay et al., 1996). Our understanding of the cited paper indicates
that the PID control implementation studied was mainly considered to obtain an
improvement in the measurement and graphic display of some parameters involved in the
process. Control problems, if any, were not addressed. However, Szentmarjay et al. claim
that the control strategy implemented in the mechanically spouted bed dryer allowed a
stable and economical operation of the dryer, as well as a dried product of good quality.
Recently we have initiated a systematic study of the possible control problems of spouted
beds in order to propose feasible solutions to improve their operation. We have started from
scratch by considering a very simple and well-know control configuration (a multiloop PID
scheme) and only looking upon thefluid dynamics and thermal behavior of the spouted bed.
Some initial results can be seen in Moreira et al. (1998a,b).

In Moreira et al. (1998a,b), the pressure drop across the bed, P, is used as a reasonable
indication of the fluid dynamics behavior of the spouted bed. In order to monitor for a
possible spout collapse, a PI-control pairing P-VP was implemented between the pressure
drop across the bed, P, and the inlet gas flow rate control valve-stem position, VP. This
control strategy was unable to properly correct for disturbances that collapse the spout,
especially when in an operating region close to the minimum spout. In this region, the non-
linearity is evident since the spouted bed can suddenly become a fixed bed. Besides, if the
bed collapses, the PI-control strategy implemented will not be able to reestablish the spout.
Such facts will be shown in the following sections. Therefore, a more specific control
strategy to deal with this particular behavior of spouted beds is necessary. For this reason, a
new control strategy, which takes into account a supervisory control structure, is
implemented and tested.

The idea of this new control strategy is quite simple. From time to time, the control
algorithm identifies, on site, the gas flow rate Qmax (equivalent to Pmax) and a sufficient gas
flow rate to establish the spout, Qj (equivalent to a Pj). The actual minimum spouted flow
rate, Qjm, must lie in between, since it corresponds to the minimum pressure drop across the
spouted bed (Pjm), where the spout still exists. With the Golden Section Search method
(Press et al., 1989), it is possible to establish a flow rate as close as possible to the
minimum spout flow rate. This flow rate is then the actual set-point of the PI-controller for
the flow rate control loop. This minimization method has the advantage of only considering
comparisons of measured pressure drop values across the spouted bed that makes the
method fast and then suitable to be including in the control algorithm. To achieve
implementation of this control algorithm and also minimize the energy demands of spouted
beds, we have to modify the PI-control pairing from P-VP to Q - and change the control
valve to a frequency inverter actuator.

This paper is organized as follows. In the next section, the fluid dynamics behavior of
spouted beds is outlined and the control problem associated with this particular behavior is
presented. Then, we describe an attempt to solve the control problem mentioned above with
a classic PI-control structure. A new control strategy is proposed and the Golden Section
Search method is incorporated into it. The experimental set-up is described and the paper
ends after a discussion of and conclusions about some closed-loop runs of the new control
strategy.

The Spouted Bed and the Control Problem

The spouted bed is a system that is capable of performing certain useful cyclic operations
on solid particles with a high degree of mixture between a fluid and these particles. For that
reason, it is already used in several industrial applications such as drying of grains, paste-
like material, suspension, solids coating and many others applications (Mathur & Epstein,
1974). Several tests have already indicated the viability of using spouted beds as a dryer in
the dehydration of fruit pulp, bovine blood, egg, yeast, tomato puree, banana puree,
aluminium hydroxide, beans, corn, soy beans, etc. The most common configuration of a
spouted bed consists of a circular cylinder with a diverging conical base filled with a given
amount of particles. The cone vertex is truncated to form a nozzle (inlet hole) through
which a fluid enters (generally warm air in drying processes) at a considerably high flow
rate to facilitate a characteristic movement of the particles, the spout. These particles,
impelled by the fluid, pass through the spout channel and decelerate forming a fountain.
Then, they drop to the side into the annulus area (between the spout and the vessel wall).
The annulus forms a very dense packing of particles, which show a slow descending
movement. The particles move downwards and encounter the spout to establish a cyclical
movement. Depending on the process, the particle can be grains, seeds or inert particles
with different shapes such as spheres, pellets, bullets and many others. Spherical inert
particles, with dp=0.36 cm, are used in our experimental set-up. There is also another
configuration based on an entirely conical vessel. This work uses the first configuration.
The spouted bed can operate continuously or in batches. In this work, we make use of the
first type of operation.

The characteristic fluid dynamics behavior of a spouted bed is best described with reference
to a plot of pressure drop across the bed versus the superficial velocity or the gas flow rate
in the spouted bed, Q. This behavior, shown in Figure 1, is obtained by gradually increasing
the fluid flow rate up to Qj (path of increasing flow rate) and by gradually decreasing Q
down to the initial fixed bed condition (path of decreasing flow rate), where the spout no
longer exists. See Mathur & Epstein (1974) for a complete description of this hysteresis
loop in the fluid dynamics behavior of spouted beds.

Figure 1: Pressure drop across the system gas flow rate

curve for our experimental set-up, which includes a cyclone
at the output gas. Inert spherical glass particles: dp = 0.36 cm,
Dc = 15 cm, Di = 3.5cm, = 60o and H = 23.5cm.

An Important Operational Constraint: The Control Problem

As we can see in Figure 1, the minimum pressure drop across the bed, Pjm, also has a
correspondent value in path of the increasing flow rate. If some control configuration is
designed based on keeping track of the pressure drop across de bed, Pj, close to Pjm, it
may not succeed. After some disturbance in the direction of the decreasing flow rate, this
control loop would seek the value of Pjm on path the increasing flow rate as its actual
reference value and move the spouted bed into fixed bed operation mode. This situation is
undesirable and is a serious operational constraint in spouted bed processes. In the next
section, we discuss an implementation of an unsuited control structure to overcome this
constraint. Therefore, one important control problem in the operation of spouted beds is to
maintain the spout despite input disturbances.
An Attempt to Solve the Control Problem with a Classic PI-Control Structure

In Moreira et al. (1998a), the implementation and testing of a multiloop PI controller in a

spouted bed are performed. Based on the fluid dynamics and thermal behavior of the
system, around the minimum spouted bed fluid flow rate, a transfer function matrix is
identified for control purposes. This transfer function matrix relates the pressure drop
across the spouted bed (P) and the exit fluid temperature (Te) to the inlet fluid flow rate
control valve-stem position (VP) and the electrical power supplied to the inlet fluid heat
exchanger (POW). The elements of this 2X2 transfer function matrix are identified as a
first-order with time delay transfer function. The control pairings are P-VP and Te - POW.
The performance of the control system is tested for set-point tracking, disturbance rejection
and interaction between the control loops around a previously defined control design
operating region. In all cases the control system presents a good performance. A weak
interaction is observed for a set-point step change in loop P-VP. In fact, POW has almost
no impact onP. However, when we drastically decreased the gas flow rate, Q, below Qjm,
the control loop P-VP was unable to properly control P without extinguishing the spout
(Figure 2). In Figure 2, the operating point is moved to the path of the increasing flow rate
(Figure 1), since the control loop P-VP can not distinguish between the (VP) from the
path of the increasing flow rate and that from the path of the decreasing flow rate. The first
P is 'selected' and the gas flow rate is reduced.

Figure 2: Closed-loop performance of the multiloop PI-control

P - VP and Te - POW, after a drastic disturbance in Q below Qjm,
when the loop P - VP was not able to maintain the spout and
shift the operating region into the path of the increasing flow rate
(data from Moreira, 1997).

The same problem was observed even when a multiloop tuning method was implemented
(Moreira et al., 1998b). The multiloop tuning method was used to deal with the
minimization of loop interaction and therefore it was not supposed to overcome the end of
the spout.

Another important observation obtained from Moreira et al. (1998a,b) was concerning the
closed-loop dynamics of both loops P-VP and Te - POW, where the former is much faster
than the latter.

All these facts led us to think of a different control strategy to improve the operation of
spouted beds and solve the control problem studied here. First, control of the faster
behavior of the fluid dynamics of the spouted bed will be built into a single SISO control
loop configuration. And the quality of the product dry material as in a drying operation
will be controlled by a different and independent control structure. Second, the
minimization of energy costs and the stable operation of the spouted bed will be achieved
by pairing Q with the blower's motor frequency, , instead of P with VP. This new pairing
will be included in an optimizing control strategy where a minimization search is
implemented to establish a suitable gas flow rate as the set-point for the PI-control pairing
Q - .

Optimizing Control Strategy

The on-line, recursively updated, implementation of set-points in control systems is

denominated Optimizing or Supervisory Control, where optimization algorithms are
employed to maximize profits or to minimize costs. In our case, we are interested in the
decrease in energy demands in spouted beds, specially the minimization of energy used in
gas displacement by blowers, without losing the main operational characteristic of spouted
beds: the spout.

In this work, the objective function to be minimized is the spouted bed pressure drop across
the bed, P, by a suitable choice of a fluid flow rate, Q, with the constraint that the spout
extinction should be avoided. That is

min P

subject to (1)

P Pjm

There are several optimization algorithms in the literature and one of the simplest was used:
the Golden Section Search method (Press et al., 1989).

The applied control strategy can be visualized in the diagram in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Block diagram of the optimizing control

strategy.

It is important to point out that the optimizing control proposed modifies the spouted bed
operation during the procedure for the calculation of the minimum. All intermediary set-
points for the PI-control loop, Qsp, are implemented until a suitable value (minimum) is
obtained. Someone can argue that this is an inconvenient procedure. However, if you
consider the difficulty of obtaining good models to predict the minimum spout flow rate,
Qjm, the methodology proposed here seems to be fine. Besides, this PI-control loop Q - is
fast enough so as to not affect the dynamics of the other loops. The steps implemented in
the optimizing control algorithm are now presented.

Application of the One-dimensional Golden Section Search Method

The Golden Section Search method consists of surrounding the minimum of a function with
three points starting from a b c such that f(a) f(b)and f(b) f(c). A new point X is
introduced into this interval such that a x b or b x c. If, for example, b x c, f(x)
is calculated. For f(b) f(x) , the new triplet surrounding the minimum is given by a b x.
When f(b) f(x), the new triplet becomes b x c. This procedure is repeated until the
distance between the points in the triplet is below a given tolerance.

For the recursive calculations, the localization of a x point inside the initial search interval
a b c, is given at a fractional distance starting from the medium point b in the largest
interval [a,b] or [b,c]. This distance is 38.197% of the selected interval and is denominated
Golden Section (Press et al., 1989).

In this work, the initial search interval corresponding to a b c is given by

(2)

where Qj is the gas flow rate value at the point where the bed begins to spout (path of the
increasing flow rate). k is a weight value between 0 and 1. k=1 was adopted.

Eq. (2) indicates that Qjm must lie between the value for a gas flow rate where the particles
start to move from a resting condition and another gas flow rate value lower than the one
that corresponds to the maximum pressure drop across the bed.

The algorithm should identify Qmax and Qj. These values are obtained in a start-up
procedure by increasing the gas flow rate gradually and introducing the measured P values
into the optimization routine. Then, the minimization procedure seeks the smallest gas flow
rate inside the search interval and implements it as an effective set-point in the PI
controller. If the spout is extinguished, the algorithm tries to reestablish it using
minimization routine for a given number of attempts. If it does not succeed, the operational
conditions have probably been changed due to batch operation and/or input disturbances
(variations in paste feed, temperature or bed load, for example), and the optimization
routine starts again to determine the new values for Qmax and Qj. All these steps are
represented in the block diagram in Figure 4.
 Figure 4: Block diagram of the optimization
procedure.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Early in this paper, we presented Figure 1, which shows the characteristic curve of our
spouted bed. It is important to point out the positions of Qmax, Qj and Qjm on this curve for
future analysis.

Figures 6, 7 and 8 show tests of the control system with the optimizing PI-control structure
and the classic PI-control, which is the one not seeking the optimum Q value.

Figure 5: Experimental set-up scheme.

Figure 6: Closed-loop behavior of P during start-up and

optimizing control (first one-third part); disturbance in Q
and optimizing control (second one-third part) and
disturbance in Q without optimizing control (third one-third
part).
 Figure 7: Closed-loop behavior of Qsp (set-point) during start-up and
optimizing control (first one-third part); disturbance in Q and optimizing
control (second one-third part) and disturbance in Q without optimizing
control (third one-third part).

Figure 8: Closed-loop behavior of (manipulated variable)

during start-up and optimizing control (first one-third part);
disturbance in Q and optimizing control (second one-third
part) and disturbance in Q without optimizing control (third
one-third part).

The first one-third of Figure 6 shows the control system behavior during start-up, where the
positions of Qmax and Qj are identified by the optimization routine (Figure 4). Qmax
corresponds to the highest value of P (Pmax) in this first one-third of Figure 6, while Qj
corresponds to the first P after Pmax, as indicated in the first one-third of Figure 6 and
also in Figure 1. From the definition of the initial optimization search interval, the
optimization routine establishes the set-point at Qsp=1.05 m3/min, as shown in the first one-
third of Figure 7. At t =500 s, a disturbance is applied, thereby decreasing the air flow rate.
The drawer valve in the air line (Figure 5) is used for this disturbance and the spout is
extinguished (an abrupt decrease in P, as shown in the second one-third of Figure 6). In a
similar way, as described in the start-up procedure, new positions are identified for Qmax and
Qj and a new set-point is established at Qsp=1.05 m3/min (second one-third of Figure 7). A
difference of 0.05 m3/min is observed between the two set-points (first and second one-third
of Figure 7). This difference is due to packing. At the start-up, the particles are more packed
(they form a denser medium) than when the spout is extinguished. Therefore, the bed of
particles needs a higher flow rate to 'break' the particulate medium and promote the spout.
Hence, Qmax and Qj show larger values than those referring to the particulate medium
already 'broken' once. The fluctuations observed in P (Figure 6) are due to the regulatory
PI-control actions.

Third one-third of the Figure 6 presents the performance of PI-control without supervisory
mode (optimizing control), with the set-point equal to Qsp=1.05 m3/min (second one-third of
Figure 7). After returning the drawer valve to the initial position established in the start-up
procedure, which is verified by a decrease in at 800 s (Figure 8), the spout is once again
extinguished at 1000 s.

It is observed that pressure increased as expected (Figure 6). At this operating point, with
Qsp=1.05 m3/min, there are two values for P: one in the path of increasing flow rate (fixed
bed: no spout) and another in the path of the decreasing flow rate (Figure 1). The PI-
control, without the supervisory mode, could not reestablish the spout, since the operation
is being performed at a P in the path of the increasing flow rate and achieved after the end
of the spout. Only the optimizing control will be able to, automatically, spout the particles
again.

With this optimizing control strategy, it was possible to operate close to the minimum spout
condition. During the disturbance test, the set-point was established at Qsp=1.05 m3/min
(only 5% larger than the minimum spout flow rate). If the minimization search interval is
reduced, with k 1 (Eq. 2), it would be possible to obtain a Qsp closer to Qjm. So, why not
try the minimum spout flow rate itself? The answer is: instability. At this operating point,
the spout will suffer several collapses and reestablishments with excessive action in the
final control element (frequency inverter and blower). This will result in an apparently
unnecessary effort.

Finally, the savings made in blower energy demands is analyzed. The real advantage of
acting directly on the blower's electric motor, using a frequency inverter, is the modulation
of electric energy in accordance with the required flow rate. If a control valve is used,
electric energy expenses will be excessive, since the blower will continually supply the
same amount of air, while consuming more energy than that necessary to establish the
spout. For example, during this experiment, the energy demanded by the blower was
approximately 0.8 kWh after 1160 s of total running time, much smaller than 1.8 kWh, the
value when a control valve is used during the same period of time. In addition, the blower
is operated below its maximum capacity, which prolongs its operational life.

CONCLUSIONS

We may conclude that the optimizing control strategy, using the simple Golden Section
Search method of minimization, is fast and works fine in the control of the fluid dynamics
of a spouted bed.

Although shifting the operation back and forth, in order to search for the optimum set-point
of the fluid flow rate is inconvenient, the capacity of the control system to reestablish the
spout is robust and makes this strategy a good option when one wishes to operate very close
to the minimum spout. PI-control (without the supervisory mode) can not achieve this
performance.

An energy savings is evident and should be explored in more detail in the future.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to express their gratitude for the financial support provided by
PRONEX/FINEP (under grant 142849/97-9) and CNPq.
 NOMENCLATURE

a,b,c,x arbitrary variables

Dc circular cylinder diameter (cm)

Di gas inlet diameter (cm)

dp particle diameter (cm)

e error: Qsp - Q (m3/min)

f arbitrary function

H bed height (cm)

Hc circular cylinder height (cm)

i iterative index

k weight value used to modify the minimization interval, 0 to 1(dimensionless)

POW electrical power supplied to the inlet fluid heat exchanger (kW)

Q gas flow rate (m3/min)

Qj gas flow rate with spout (m3/min)

Qjm minimum spout flow rate (m3/min)

Qmax gas flow rate at maximum pressure drop across the spouted bed (m3/min)

Qsp set-point for the PI-control loop Q - (m3/min)

t time (min)

Te fluid temperature at the exit (oC)

VP inlet gas flow rate control valve-stem position, 0 to 1 (dimensionless)

Greek Letters

P pressure drop across bed (mmHg)

Pj pressure drop across bed with spout (mmHg)

Pjm pressure drop at minimum spout flow rate (mmHg)

Pjmax maximum pressure drop across the spouted bed (mmHg)

angle of the cone vertex (o)

the blower's motor frequency (Hz)

Abbreviations

PC-AT486 Personal computer

PI Proportional-Integral control mode

PID Proportional-Integral-Derivative control mode

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